Tequila

The partnership with jockey David Egan is well established by now — seven of those nine races together — but zero wins from those seven rides means the pair are still searching for their moment. Egan is an accomplished jockey at the top level, so his continued involvement suggests the team around the horse still believes there is something to work with. Tequila races almost exclusively at Class 5, the entry level of British racing, which means it is already competing where the bar is at its lowest. Winning 0 from 6 at that level is a concern, because if a horse cannot break through there, it raises real questions about where a win might eventually come from.

Trainer Robson De Aguiar operates out of Mullingar in Westmeath and has sent out 16 winners this season, so the yard clearly knows how to get horses winning. Tequila, for now, is the puzzle that hasn't clicked. Having raced just one day ago, the horse is very much in active training and campaigning, which means the yard — the trainer and the team — haven't given up. Sometimes a horse takes time to mature or needs a specific set of conditions to bring out its best. At four years old, Tequila still has time. But the clock is ticking, and the next few races will say a lot about whether that elusive first win is coming or whether this horse's story stays firmly in the also-ran column.